Search

Ayu Permatasanti,1 Irna Sufiawati2 1Oral Medicine Residency Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indoenesia; 2Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, IndonesiaCorrespondence: Irna Sufiawati, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jalan Sekeloa Selatan I, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia, Tel +62-22-2504985, Fax +62-22-2532805, Email irna.sufiawati@fkg.unpad.ac.idIntroduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) impairs immune function leading to oral mucosal lesions. While highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has reduced the incidence of HIV-associated oral lesions (HIV-OLs), these lesions can still manifest across all HIV stages due to various patient-related factors.Purpose: To evaluate the occurrence of HIV-OLs and clinical characteristics across all HIV stages in people living with HIV (PLWH).Patients and Methods: Five patients aged 7 to 60 with canker sores visited the Oral Medicine Clinic. One newly diagnosed patient with stage II HIV had not yet started ART, while others in stages I, III, and IV were already receiving ART. Diagnosed oral lesions included recurrent intraoral herpes (RIH) in patients with stages I, II, and III; linear gingival erythema (LGE) in stages I; acute pseudomembranous candidiasis (APC) and oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) in stages II; traumatic ulcers in stages III; erythema multiforme (EM) and angular cheilitis (AC) in stages IV. Potential risk factors for these oral lesions included poor oral hygiene, low CD4+ T-cell counts, detectable viral load, non-adherence to ART, smoking, medication use for systemic diseases, nutritional deficiency, and comorbidities.Results: Treatment included antiviral for RIH; antifungal for APC and AC; topical corticosteroid and antiseptic mouthwash for oral ulcers and improving oral hygiene; application of normal saline-soaked gauze dressing followed by topical steroid for EM; petroleum jelly for dry lips; and multivitamins. Lesions improved over 5– 15 days. Addressing risk factors involved improving oral hygiene, treating comorbidities, promoting weight gain, smoking cessation, and starting ART for those untreated.Conclusion: Oral lesions are prevalent throughout the stages of HIV and are influenced by immune status, medication adherence, and overall health, underscoring the need for holistic care to enhance the quality of life, potentially alter HIV progression, and reduce morbidity through integrated oral health assessments in routine care.Keywords: Antiretroviral, HIV, oral mucosa lesion, risk factors, clinical stages

Background and Aims: Decompensated‐cirrhosis encompasses several stages with different prognosis, such as bleeding, ascites and bleeding‐plus‐ascites. Development of further‐decompensation worsens survival, while non‐selective β‐blockers (NSBBs) can modify the risk. However, how this applies to each stage is uncertain. We aimed to investigate, in each stage of decompensated‐cirrhosis, the influence of further‐decompensation on mortality and whether changes in portal‐pressure (HVPG) under NSBBs influence these outcomes. Methods: Patients with variceal bleeding were consecutively included differentiating those with bleeding‐alone from those who also had ascites. Patients with ascites and high‐risk varices referred for primary‐prophylaxis were also investigated. A baseline haemodynamic study was performed and was repeated after 1‐3‐months under NSBBs. Outcomes were investigated by competing‐risk. Results: Totally 103 patients had bleeding‐alone, 186 bleeding‐plus‐ascites and 187 ascites‐alone. Mean follow‐up was 32‐months (IQR, 12–60). Patients with bleeding‐plus‐ascites had higher HVPG and were more hyperdynamic than patients with ascites‐alone and these than those with bleeding‐alone. At each stage, the mortality risk was more than twice in patients developing further‐decompensation vs. those without (p <.001). In each stage, HVPG‐decrease under NSBBs showed better discrimination to predict further‐decompensation than the baseline MELD, Child–Pugh or HVPG, by time‐dependent ROC‐curves (c‐statistic >70%). At each stage, patients without HVPG‐decreases, either ≥10% or ≥20% from the baseline, had higher risk of further‐decompensation (sHR from 2.43 to 6.73, p <.01) and worse survival. Conclusions: In each stage of decompensated cirrhosis, mortality risk significantly and very markedly increase with further‐decompensation. HVPG‐non‐response to NSBBs may adequately stratify the risk of further decompensation and death, in each stage. This suggests potential benefit with pre‐emptive therapies in HVPG‐non‐responders at each‐stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundLung is the largest mucosal area of the human body and directly connected to the external environment, facing microbial exposure and environmental stimuli. Therefore, studying the internal microorganisms of the lung is crucial for a deeper understanding of the relationship between microorganisms and the occurrence and progression of lung cancer.MethodsTumor and adjacent nontumor tissues were collected from 38 lung adenocarcinoma patients and used nanopore sequencing technology to sequence the 16s full-length sequence of bacteria, and combining bioinformatics methods to identify and quantitatively analyze microorganisms in tissues, as well as to enrich the metabolic pathways of microorganisms.Resultsthe microbial composition in lung adenocarcinoma tissues is highly similar to that in adjacent tissues, but the alpha diversity is significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues. The difference analysis results show that the bacterial communities of Streptococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae, and Neisseriales were significantly enriched in cancer tissues. The results of metabolic pathway analysis indicate that pathways related to cellular communication, transcription, and protein synthesis were significantly enriched in cancer tissue. In addition, clinical staging analysis of nicotine exposure and lung cancer found that Haemophilus, paralinfluenzae, Streptococcus gordonii were significantly enriched in the nicotine exposure group, while the microbiota of Cardiobactereae and Cardiobacterales were significantly enriched in stage II tumors. The microbiota significantly enriched in IA-II stages were Neisseriaeae, Enterobacteriales, and Cardiobacterales, respectively.ConclusionNanopore sequencing technology was performed on the full length 16s sequence, which preliminarily depicted the microbial changes and enrichment of microbial metabolic pathways in tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues. The relationship between nicotine exposure, tumor progression, and microorganisms was explored, providing a theoretical basis for the treatment of lung cancer through microbial targets.

To explore the relationship between fertility index (EFI) score, serum macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MMIF), Chitin enzyme protein 40 (YKL-40), ovarian function and clinical stage of patients with Endometriosis. Eighty patients with Endometriosis admitted to our hospital from June 2020 to June 2023 were selected as the study subjects, and they were dividedinto an observation group. Eighty healthy female volunteers who came to our hospital for physical examination at the same time were selected as the control group. The EFI score, serum MMIF, YKL-40 and the expression level of ovarian function indicators of the twogroups were compared. Eighty patients with Endometriosis were classified according to the American Association of ReproductiveMedicine Endometriosis staging criteria (r-AFS), including 15 patients with stage I, 23 patients with stage II, 25 patients with stage III, and 17 patients with stage IV. The EFI scores, serum MMIF, and YKL-40 expression levels in patients with different r-AFS stages were compared. And the Spearman correlation analysis method was used to analyze the correlation between EFI score, serum MMIF, YKL-40, and ovarian function indicators. The EFI score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, and the expression levels of serum MMIF and YKL-40 were higher than those of the control group (P<0.05); The expression levels of anti M俟llerianhormone (AMH), Luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, and the level of estradiol (E2 ) was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05); The EFI scores of patients with Endometriosis in different stages from high to low were stage I, stage II, stage III, and stage IV, and the levels of MMIF and YKL-40 from high to low were stage IV, stage III, stage II, and stage I. The EFI scores, serum MMIF, and YKL-40 expression levels in different stages were significantly different (P<0.05); The Spearman correlation analysis showed that the EFI score was positively correlated with AMH, LH, FSH, and negatively correlated with E2 (P<0.05). MMIF and YKL-40 were negatively correlated with AMH, LH, FSH, and positively correlated with E2 (P<0.05). EFI score, serum MMIF, and YKL-40 levels are significantly correlated with the ovary of Endometriosis patients, and there are significant differences between the EFI score, serum MMIF, and YKL-40 levels of different Endometriosis patients. Clinical application of EFI score, serum MMIF, and YKL-40 levels can be considered to assist in judging the ovarian function and disease severity of Endometriosis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium-activated chloride channel regulator 1 (CLCA1) is associated with cancer progression. The expression and immunologic function of CLCA1 in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) remain unclear. In this investigation, the expression of CLCA1 in STAD tissues and its involvement in the progression and immune response of STAD were examined using databases such as cBioPortal, TISIDB, and UALCAN. In order to validate the expression level of CLCA1 protein in gastric adenocarcinoma, thirty clinical tissue specimens were gathered for immunohistochemical staining. The findings indicated a downregulation of CLCA1 in STAD patients, which was correlated with race, age, cancer grade, Helicobacter pylori infection, and molecular subtype. Through the examination of survival analysis, it was identified that diminished levels of CLCA1 within gastric cancer cases were linked to decreased periods of post-progression survival (PPS), overall survival (OS), and first progression (FP) (P<0.05). The CLCA1 mutation rate was lower in STAD, but the survival rate was higher in the variant group. The correlation between the expression level of CLCA1 and the levels of immune infiltrating cells in STAD, as well as the immune activating molecules, immunosuppressive molecules, MHC molecules, chemokines, and their receptor molecules, was observed. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that CLCA1 may be involved in STAD progression through systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), proteasome, cell cycle, pancreatic secretion, and PPAR signaling pathways. In summary, CLCA1 is anticipated to function as a prognostic marker for patients with STAD and is linked to the immunization of STAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective To analyze the tongue feature of NSCLC at different stages, as well as the correlation between tongue feature and tumor marker, and investigate the feasibility of establishing prediction models for NSCLC at different stages based on tongue feature and tumor marker. Methods Tongue images were collected from non-advanced NSCLC patients (n = 109) and advanced NSCLC patients (n = 110), analyzed the tongue images to obtain tongue feature, and analyzed the correlation between tongue feature and tumor marker in different stages of NSCLC. On this basis, six classifiers, decision tree, logistic regression, SVM, random forest, naive bayes, and neural network, were used to establish prediction models for different stages of NSCLC based on tongue feature and tumor marker. Results There were statistically significant differences in tongue feature between the non-advanced and advanced NSCLC groups. In the advanced NSCLC group, the number of indexes with statistically significant correlations between tongue feature and tumor marker was significantly higher than in the non-advanced NSCLC group, and the correlations were stronger. Support Vector Machine (SVM), decision tree, and logistic regression among the machine learning methods performed poorly in models with different stages of NSCLC. Neural network, random forest and naive bayes had better classification efficiency for the data set of tongue feature and tumor marker and baseline. The models’ classification accuracies were 0.767 ± 0.081, 0.718 ± 0.062, and 0.688 ± 0.070, respectively, and the AUCs were 0.793 ± 0.086, 0.779 ± 0.075, and 0.771 ± 0.072, respectively. Conclusions There were statistically significant differences in tongue feature between different stages of NSCLC, with advanced NSCLC tongue feature being more closely correlated with tumor marker. Due to the limited information, single data sources including baseline, tongue feature, and tumor marker cannot be used to identify the different stages of NSCLC in this pilot study. In addition to the logistic regression method, other machine learning methods, based on tumor marker and baseline data sets, can effectively improve the differential diagnosis efficiency of different stages of NSCLC by adding tongue image data, which requires further verification based on large sample studies in the future.

Purpose: To evaluate the value of quantitative parameters derived from diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) in differentiating histologic grades and clinical stages of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Materials and methods: A total of 65 patients who were surgically and pathologically diagnosed as ccRCC were recruited in this study. In addition to routine renal magnetic resonance imaging examination, all patients underwent preoperative IVIM and DKI. The corresponding diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f), mean diffusivity (MD), kurtosis anisotropy (KA), and mean kurtosis (MK) values were obtained. Independentsamples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparing the differences in IVIM and DKI parameters among different histologic grades and clinical stages. The diagnostic efficacy of IVIM and DKI parameters was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to separately analyze the correlation of each parameter with histologic grades and stages of ccRCC. Results: The D and MD values were significantly higher in low-grade ccRCC than high-grade ccRCC (all p < 0.001) and in low-stage than high-stage ccRCC (all p < 0.05), and the f value of high-stage ccRCC was lower than that of low-stage ccRCC (p = 0.007). The KA and MK values were significantly higher in low-grade than high-grade ccRCC (p = 0.000 and 0.000, respectively) and in low-stage than high-stage ccRCC (p = 0.000 and 0.000, respectively). The area under the curve (AUC) values of D, D*, f, MD, KA, MK, DKI, and IVIM+DKI values were 0.825, 0.598, 0.626, 0.792, 0.750, 0.754, 0.803, and 0.857, respectively, in grading ccRCC and 0.837, 0.719, 0.710, 0.787, 0.796, 0.784, 0.864, 0.823, and 0.916, respectively, in staging ccRCC. The AUC of IVIM was 0.913 in staging ccRCC. The D, D*, and MD values were negatively correlated with the histologic grades and clinical stages (all p < 0.05), and the KA and MK values showed a positive correlation with histologic grades and clinical stages (all p < 0.05). The f value was also negatively correlated with the ccRCC clinical stage (p = 0.008). Conclusion: Both the IVIM and DKI values can be used preoperatively to predict the degree of histologic grades and stages in ccRCC, and the D and MD values have better diagnostic performance in the grading and staging. Also, further slightly enhanced diagnostic efficacy was observed in the model with combined IVIM and DKI parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the tongue feature of NSCLC at different stages, as well as the correlation between tongue feature and tumor marker, and investigate the feasibility of establishing prediction models for NSCLC at different stages based on tongue feature and tumor marker. Methods: Tongue images were collected from non-advanced NSCLC patients (n = 109) and advanced NSCLC patients (n = 110), analyzed the tongue images to obtain tongue feature, and analyzed the correlation between tongue feature and tumor marker in different stages of NSCLC. On this basis, six classifiers, decision tree, logistic regression, SVM, random forest, naive bayes, and neural network, were used to establish prediction models for different stages of NSCLC based on tongue feature and tumor marker. Results: There were statistically significant differences in tongue feature between the non-advanced and advanced NSCLC groups. In the advanced NSCLC group, the number of indexes with statistically significant correlations between tongue feature and tumor marker was significantly higher than in the non-advanced NSCLC group, and the correlations were stronger. Support Vector Machine (SVM), decision tree, and logistic regression among the machine learning methods performed poorly in models with different stages of NSCLC. Neural network, random forest and naive bayes had better classification efficiency for the data set of tongue feature and tumor marker and baseline. The models' classification accuracies were 0.767 ± 0.081, 0.718 ± 0.062, and 0.688 ± 0.070, respectively, and the AUCs were 0.793 ± 0.086, 0.779 ± 0.075, and 0.771 ± 0.072, respectively. Conclusions: There were statistically significant differences in tongue feature between different stages of NSCLC, with advanced NSCLC tongue feature being more closely correlated with tumor marker. Due to the limited information, single data sources including baseline, tongue feature, and tumor marker cannot be used to identify the different stages of NSCLC in this pilot study. In addition to the logistic regression method, other machine learning methods, based on tumor marker and baseline data sets, can effectively improve the differential diagnosis efficiency of different stages of NSCLC by adding tongue image data, which requires further verification based on large sample studies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundImpairment in daily functioning is a clinical hallmark of dementia. Difficulties with "instrumental activities of daily living" (IADL) seem to increase gradually over the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD), before dementia onset. However, it is currently not well established how difficulties develop along the preclinical and prodromal stages of AD. We aimed to investigate the trajectories of decline in IADL performance, as reported by a study partner, along the early stages of AD.MethodsIn a longitudinal multicenter study, combining data from community-based and memory clinic cohorts, we included 1555 individuals (mean age 72.5 ± 7.8 years; 50% female) based on availability of amyloid biomarkers, longitudinal IADL data, and clinical information at baseline. Median follow-up duration was 2.1 years. All amyloid-positive participants (n = 982) were classified into the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) clinical stages ranging from preclinical AD (1) to overt dementia (4+). Cognitively normal amyloid-negative individuals (n = 573) served as a comparison group. The total scores of three study-partner reported IADL questionnaires were standardized.ResultsThe rate of decline in cognitively normal (stage 1) individuals with and without abnormal amyloid did not differ (p = .453). However, from stage 2 onwards, decline was significantly faster in individuals on the AD continuum (B [95%CI] = - 0.32 [- 0.55, - 0.09], p = .007). The rate of decline increased with each successive stage: one standard deviation (SD) unit per year in stage 3 (- 1.06 [- 1.27, - 0.85], p

Abstract Purpose No large-scale prospective randomized study with a long-term follow-up period has evaluated the survival outcomes of preconcurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18FDG PET–CT) in patients with non–human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Patients and Methods We included patients with stage I–IVA p16-negative OPSCC receiving definitive CCRT and categorized them into two groups according to pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT and compared their outcomes: the case group consisted of patients who underwent pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT, whereas the comparison group consisted of patients who did not receive pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT. Results The final cohort consisted of 3942 patients (1663 and 2279 in the case and comparison groups, respectively). According to multivariable Cox regression analysis, pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT was not a significant prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with stages I–II of p16-negative OPSCC receiving standard CCRT. The adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of all-cause death for the patients with advanced stages (III–IVA) of p16-negative OPSCC receiving pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT was 0.75 (0.87–0.94, P = 0.0236). Conclusions Routine use of pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is not necessary for each patient with p16-negative OPSCC. Pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is associated with improved survival in patients with stage III–IVA p16-negative OSCC, but might be not in those with stage I–II p16-negative OPSCC. Condensed abstract No large-scale prospective randomized study with a long-term follow-up period has evaluated the survival outcomes of preconcurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18FDG PET–CT) in patients with p16-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Our study is the first, largest, homogenous modality study on PET–CT including a long-term follow-up cohort to examine the survival outcomes of pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT or non-pre-CCRT PET–CT for patients with p16-negative OPSCC receiving standard CCRT stratified by different clinical stages. Routine use of pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is not necessary for each patient with p16-negative OPSCC. Pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is associated with improved survival in patients with stage III–IVA p16-negative OPSCC, but might be not in those with stage I–II p16-negative OPSCC.

Background/Purpose: Accurate staging is the first step for optimal treatment selection in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this propensity-score-matched, population-based cohort study, we investigated the survival effects of pretreatment 8-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18FDG-PET–CT) on patients with NPC. Methods: We included patients with stage I–IVA NPC receiving radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy and categorized them into two 1:1 propensity score–matched groups according to whether or not they underwent pretreatment 18FDG-PET–CT and compared their outcomes. Results: Of the 10,756 patients, propensity score matching yielded 4366 patients in each group. According to multivariable Cox regression analyses, the most prominent correlation between pretreatment 18FDG-PET–CT and all-cause death was observed in patients with stage II NPC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60–0.90; P = .0433), followed by patients with stage III NPC (aHR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69–0.94; P = .0071) and patients with stage IVA NPC (aHR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.79–0.97; P = .0091). This association was not significant in patients with stage I NPC (aHR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.75–1.93; P = .4426). Conclusion: Pretreatment 18FDG-PET–CT is associated with longer survival in patients with clinical stage II–IVA NPC but not in stage I NPC.

Purpose: No large-scale prospective randomized study with a long-term follow-up period has evaluated the survival outcomes of preconcurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18FDG PET–CT) in patients with non–human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Patients and Methods: We included patients with stage I–IVA p16-negative OPSCC receiving definitive CCRT and categorized them into two groups according to pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT and compared their outcomes: the case group consisted of patients who underwent pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT, whereas the comparison group consisted of patients who did not receive pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT. Results: The final cohort consisted of 3942 patients (1663 and 2279 in the case and comparison groups, respectively). According to multivariable Cox regression analysis, pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT was not a significant prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with stages I–II of p16-negative OPSCC receiving standard CCRT. The adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of all-cause death for the patients with advanced stages (III–IVA) of p16-negative OPSCC receiving pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT was 0.75 (0.87–0.94, P = 0.0236). Conclusions: Routine use of pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is not necessary for each patient with p16-negative OPSCC. Pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is associated with improved survival in patients with stage III–IVA p16-negative OSCC, but might be not in those with stage I–II p16-negative OPSCC. No large-scale prospective randomized study with a long-term follow-up period has evaluated the survival outcomes of preconcurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18FDG PET–CT) in patients with p16-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Our study is the first, largest, homogenous modality study on PET–CT including a long-term follow-up cohort to examine the survival outcomes of pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT or non-pre-CCRT PET–CT for patients with p16-negative OPSCC receiving standard CCRT stratified by different clinical stages. Routine use of pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is not necessary for each patient with p16-negative OPSCC. Pre-CCRT 18FDG PET–CT is associated with improved survival in patients with stage III–IVA p16-negative OPSCC, but might be not in those with stage I–II p16-negative OPSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condensed abstract: No large-scale, well-designed randomized study with a long-term follow-up has evaluated the survival effect of pretreatment 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18FDG-PET-CT) on patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving imageguided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT). This is the first head-tohead propensity score-matched, nationwide population-based cohort study evaluating this survival effect. The results revealed that pretreatment 18FDGPET- CT might be associated with longer survival in patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy, especially in the IG-IMRT era. Purpose: No large-scale, well-designed randomized study with a long-term follow-up has evaluated the survival effect of pretreatment 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18FDG-PET-CT) on patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving imageguided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT). Therefore, in this propensity score-matched, population-based cohort study, we investigated these survival effects. Patients and methods: We included 4167 patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving radiotherapy (RT) or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) through the IG-IMRT technique. The patients were categorized into two 1:2 propensity score-matched groups depending on whether they underwent pretreatment 18FDG-PET-CT, and their outcomes were compared. Results: We included 2778 and 1389 patients with cervical cancer in the nonpretreatment and pretreatment PET-CT groups, respectively. Univariable and multivariable analyses revealed an association between pretreatment PET-CT and improved survival in the patients (in the adjusted model, the adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] was 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-0.97: P = 0.010). Regardless of the cancer stage (early or advanced), pretreatment PET-CT was significantly superior to nonpretreatment PET-CT in terms of all-cause death (aHR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.60-0.92; P = 0.013 and aHR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81-0.99; P = 0.039 for the early [IB-IIA] and advanced stages [IIB-IVA], respectively). Conclusions: Pretreatment 18FDG-PET-CT might be associated with longer survival in patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving RT or CCRT, especially in the era of IG-IMRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate staging is the first step for optimal treatment selection in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this propensity-score-matched, population-based cohort study, we investigated the survival effects of pretreatment 8-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18FDG-PET–CT) on patients with NPC. We included patients with stage I–IVA NPC receiving radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy and categorized them into two 1:1 propensity score–matched groups according to whether or not they underwent pretreatment 18FDG-PET–CT and compared their outcomes. Of the 10,756 patients, propensity score matching yielded 4366 patients in each group. According to multivariable Cox regression analyses, the most prominent correlation between pretreatment 18FDG-PET–CT and all-cause death was observed in patients with stage II NPC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60–0.90; P =.0433), followed by patients with stage III NPC (aHR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69–0.94; P =.0071) and patients with stage IVA NPC (aHR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.79–0.97; P =.0091). This association was not significant in patients with stage I NPC (aHR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.75–1.93; P =.4426). Pretreatment 18FDG-PET–CT is associated with longer survival in patients with clinical stage II–IVA NPC but not in stage I NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the expression of adenosine deaminase acting on RNA-1 (ADAR1) in lung adenocarcinoma and its association with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. Methods Immunohistochemical staining was applied to detect the expression of ADAR1 in the tumor tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues of 131 patients with lung adenocarcinoma treated in our hospital from December 2015 to September 2017. The association between the expression of ADAR1 protein and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between ADAR1 level and patients' overall survival (OS), and fitting Cox model was used to evaluate the prognostic values of different indixes. Results ADAR1 was highly expressed in 102 cases (77.9%) of the patients, while only 21 cases (12.5%) of paired para-carcinoma tissues, indicating a significant difference (P < 0.001), and the level of ADAR1 was correlated with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that higher expression of ADAR1 was remarkably associated with shorter OS (HR=2.671, 95%CI: 1.282~5.563, P < 0.01). Multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01) were independent risk factors for prognosis of the patients. Conclusion ADAR1 is highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues, and the patients with higher expression indicate poorer prognosis.

Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world and survival rates vary significantly between early and advanced stage patients. Therefore, the identification of the pathogenesis in the development of COAD and prognostic markers is urgently demanded. Herein, we collected RNA-seq and somatic mutation data of COAD for statistical analysis. Clinical stage-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and tumor development-dependent DEGs were identified. By characterizing the metabolic and immune features of COAD between stages, we found that the energy supply and inflammatory response of advanced tumors were suppressed. Next, the ETS1, AR, GATA1, GATA2, SREBF1, FOXP3, STAT4, and NFKB1 were identified to drive the metabolic and immune-related pathways in the development of COAD. The three potential prognostic markers (HOXC8, IRF7, and CXCL13) were identified based on Cox regression analysis. Additionally, immune infiltration analysis revealed that the resting CD4+ T cell was significantly related to the overall survival (OS) of COAD patients. Collectively, the specific metabolic and immune characteristics of advanced patients and the identified prognostic biomarkers will contribute to the development of precision medicine.

ObjectiveWe performed a pan-cancer analysis to explore the potential mechanisms of FAT4 in 33 different tumors.MethodsIn this study, we selected 33 types of cancers based on the datasets of TCGA (the cancer genome atlas). We analyzed the expression of FAT4 in tumor and normal tissues. Meanwhile, we analyzed the expression levels of FAT4 in tissues from tumors of different stages. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Tumor Mutational Burden (TMB), Microsatellite Instability (MSI), immune infiltration analysis, Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and FAT4-related gene enrichment analysis were performed.ResultsFAT4 expression in most tumor tissues was lower than in corresponding control tissues. FAT4 expression was different in different stages of bladder cancer (BLCA), kidney clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), and breast cancer (BRCA). In addition, the expression level of FAT4 in different types of tumors has an important impact on the prognosis of patients. FAT4 might influence the efficacy of immunotherapy via tumor burden and microsatellite instability. We observed a statistically positive correlation between cancer-associated fibroblasts and FAT4 expression in most tumors. GSEA of BLCA indicated that low FAT4 expression groups were mainly enriched in calcium signaling pathway and chemokine signaling pathway. GSEA analysis of KIRC suggested low FAT4 expression groups were mainly involved in olfactory transduction and oxidative phosphorylation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) indicated that the role of FAT4 in the pathogenesis of cancer may be related to human papillomavirus infection, Hippo signaling pathway, PI3K–Akt signaling pathway, etc. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis further showed that most of these genes were related to the pathways or cell biology, such as peptidyl–tyrosine phosphorylation, cell junction assembly, protein tyrosine kinase activity, etc.ConclusionOur study summarized and analyzed the antitumor effect of FAT4 in different tumors comprehensively, which aided in understanding the role of FAT4 in tumorigenesis from the perspective of clinical tumor samples. Pan-cancer analysis showed that FAT4 to be novel biomarkers for various cancers prognosis.

Abstract Background Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide, it is necessary to ascertain essential immune inflammatory parameters that describe the severity of the disease and provide guidance for treatment. We performed network meta-analyses to determine differences in blood cells, lymphocyte subsets, and cytokines in COVID-19 patients with different clinical stages. Methods Databases were systematically searched to May 2, 2020, and updated on June 1, 2020. Network meta-analyses were conducted via Stata 15.0, and the mean difference (MD) and its 95% CI were used as the effect values of the pooled analysis. Results Seventy-one studies were included involving 8647 COVID-19 patients, White blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEUT), IL-6, and IL-10 counts increased significantly with worsening of the COVID-19, while lymphocyte (LYM) counts decreased. The levels of platelet (PLT), CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD19+ cells in severe and critical patients were significantly lower than those in mild patients. IL-1β count was significantly elevated in critical patients. Conclusions Immune suppression and inflammatory injury play crucial roles in the progression of COVID-19, and the identification of susceptible cells and cytokines provide guidance for the early and accurate treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Abstract Background Impairment in daily functioning is a clinical hallmark of dementia. Difficulties with “instrumental activities of daily living” (IADL) seem to increase gradually over the course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), before dementia onset. However, it is currently not well established how difficulties develop along the preclinical and prodromal stages of AD. We aimed to investigate the trajectories of decline in IADL performance, as reported by a study partner, along the early stages of AD. Methods In a longitudinal multicenter study, combining data from community-based and memory clinic cohorts, we included 1555 individuals (mean age 72.5 ± 7.8 years; 50% female) based on availability of amyloid biomarkers, longitudinal IADL data, and clinical information at baseline. Median follow-up duration was 2.1 years. All amyloid-positive participants (n = 982) were classified into the National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) clinical stages ranging from preclinical AD (1) to overt dementia (4+). Cognitively normal amyloid-negative individuals (n = 573) served as a comparison group. The total scores of three study-partner reported IADL questionnaires were standardized. Results The rate of decline in cognitively normal (stage 1) individuals with and without abnormal amyloid did not differ (p = .453). However, from stage 2 onwards, decline was significantly faster in individuals on the AD continuum (B [95%CI] = − 0.32 [− 0.55, − 0.09], p = .007). The rate of decline increased with each successive stage: one standard deviation (SD) unit per year in stage 3 (− 1.06 [− 1.27, − 0.85], p

PurposeThis study is based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program to explore the prognostic differences between signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRC) and intestinal-type gastric carcinoma (ITGC). This study is also based on gene sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to identify unique genetic contributions to the prognostic differences between the two subtypes of gastric cancer.Patients and MethodsThe clinical data were based on the SEER database from 2004 to 2015. Kaplan–Meier (KM) curves were used to compare 5-year overall survival (OS), and Cox regression was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Gene expression profiles were obtained from TCGA database, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened. Functional enrichment analysis, protein interaction and survival analysis will be further carried out. Genes of interest were verified by the Human Protein Atlas, immunohistochemistry, and encyclopedia of Cancer Cell Lines (CCLE). The relationship between genes of interest and immune cell infiltration was also analyzed by Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER).ResultsCompared with ITGC patients, SRC patients were more likely to be female, tended to be younger, and have a greater tumor distribution in the middle and lower stomach (p < 0.01). SRCs showed a significantly better prognosis than ITGCs (p < 0.01) in early gastric cancer (EGC), while the prognosis of SRCs was significantly worse than ITGCs (p < 0.05) in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). A total of 256 DEGs were screened in SRCs compared to ITGCs, and the enrichment analysis and protein interactions revealed that differential genes were mainly related to extracellular matrix organization. Thrombospondin1 (THBS1) and serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade E, member 1 (SERPINE1) are significantly differentially expressed between SRC and ITGC, which has been preliminarily verified by immunohistochemistry and open-source databases. THBS1 and SERPINE1 are also associated with multiple immune cell infiltrates in gastric cancer.ConclusionsThere were significant differences in the clinicopathological features and prognosis between SRC and ITGC. These results suggest that SRC and ITGC may be two distinct types of tumors with different pathogeneses. We found many codifferentially expressed genes and important pathways between SRC and ITGC. THBS1 and SERPINE1 were significantly differentially expressed in the two types of gastric cancer, and may have potentially important functions.

Background: Lung is the largest mucosal area of the human body and directly connected to the external environment, facing microbial exposure and environmental stimuli. Therefore, studying the internal microorganisms of the lung is crucial for a deeper understanding of the relationship between microorganisms and the occurrence and progression of lung cancer., Methods: Tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues were collected from 38 lung adenocarcinoma patients and used nanopore sequencing technology to sequence the 16s full-length sequence of bacteria, and combining bioinformatics methods to identify and quantitatively analyze microorganisms in tissues, as well as to enrich the metabolic pathways of microorganisms., Results: the microbial composition in lung adenocarcinoma tissues is highly similar to that in adjacent tissues, but the alpha diversity is significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues. The difference analysis results show that the bacterial communities of Streptococcaceae , Lactobacillaceae , and Neisseriales were significantly enriched in cancer tissues. The results of metabolic pathway analysis indicate that pathways related to cellular communication, transcription, and protein synthesis were significantly enriched in cancer tissue. In addition, clinical staging analysis of nicotine exposure and lung cancer found that Haemophilus , paralinfluenzae , Streptococcus gordonii were significantly enriched in the nicotine exposure group, while the microbiota of Cardiobactereae and Cardiobacterales were significantly enriched in stage II tumors. The microbiota significantly enriched in IA-II stages were Neisseriaeae , Enterobacteriales , and Cardiobacterales , respectively., Conclusion: Nanopore sequencing technology was performed on the full length 16s sequence, which preliminarily depicted the microbial changes and enrichment of microbial metabolic pathways in tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues. The relationship between nicotine exposure, tumor progression, and microorganisms was explored, providing a theoretical basis for the treatment of lung cancer through microbial targets., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Yang, Wang, Ding, Zhang, Zhu, Wang, Pan, Li, Wang and Yu.)

Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is very common among cancers of urinary system. It was usually categorized into two types: non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). NMIBC and MIBC groupings are heterogeneous and have different characteristics., Objectives: The study was aimed to find some hub genes and related signal pathways which might be engaged in the progression of BC and to investigate the relationship with clinical stages and its prognostic significance., Methods: GSE37317 datasets were acquired from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. GEO2R on-line tool was selected to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the two different types of BC. Then, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and KOBAS-Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of these DEGs were conducted. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was employed to help us screen hub genes and find significant modules. Finally, we made analysis of gene expression and survival curve by GEPIA and Kaplan-Meier plotter database., Results: 224 DEGs were screened in total, with 110 showing increased expression and 114 demonstrating decreased expression. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mostly involved in collagen fibril organization, extracellular matrix (ECM) structural constituent, bHLH transcription factor binding, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Only 3 hub genes (DCN, JUN, THBS1) displayed significantly higher expression compared to those in the healthy controls. These hub genes were also strongly related to clinical stages as well as overall survival (OS) of BC patients., Conclusions: Taken together, most of hub genes involved in the progression of BC were related to ECM and EMT. In addition, 3 hub genes (DCN, JUN, THBS1) were strongly related with clinical stages and OS of BC patients. This study can enhance our comprehension of the progression of NMIBC and identify novel potential targets for MIBC., Competing Interests: None., (AJCEU Copyright © 2024.)

Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) have been associated with tumor development and progression by affecting apoptosis through cell death signaling pathways. To date, eight IAPs (BIRC1–8) have been identified in mammalian cells. However, the role of IAPs in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development and progression has not been explored in depth. In this study, we used public datasets and bioinformatics tools to compare the expression, prognostic significance, and function of IAPs in NSCLC and its subtypes. Expression of IAPs in cancer and normal tissues and at different stages of NSCLC was compared with gene expression profiling interactive analysis, and their prognostic significance was analyzed with the Kaplan–Meier Plotter database. The correlations among IAPs were analyzed with the STRING database and SPSS19.0. Functional annotation of IAPs was analyzed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment on the basis of the DAVID tool. Among patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the expression level of BIRC5 was higher than that in normal samples, and the expression of BIRC1 and BIRC5 significantly varied in different stages. Moreover, the BIRC1 – 3 and BIRC5 mRNA levels were associated with overall survival (OS), and the BIRC1 – 2 and BIRC5 – 6 mRNA levels were associated with progression-free survival (PFS). Among patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), the expression level of BIRC1 was lower and that of BIRC5 was higher than those in normal tissues, and BIRC5 expression significantly varied in different stages. BIRC1 expression was associated with OS, whereas BIRC2 and BIRC6 expression was associated with PFS. Enrichment analysis showed that most IAPs are associated with ubiquitin- and apoptosis-related pathways. Collectively, this study suggests BIRC5 as a potential diagnostic and staging marker, BIRC1 as a potential marker of OS, and BIRC2 and BIRC6 as potential PFS markers for patients with NSCLC. These highlight new targets for the early detection, treatment, and management of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CT Theory & Applications is the property of Editorial Department of CT Theory & Applications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) have been associated with tumor development and progression by affecting apoptosis through cell death signaling pathways. To date, eight IAPs (BIRC1–8) have been identified in mammalian cells. However, the role of IAPs in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development and progression has not been explored in depth. In this study, we used public datasets and bioinformatics tools to compare the expression, prognostic significance, and function of IAPs in NSCLC and its subtypes. Expression of IAPs in cancer and normal tissues and at different stages of NSCLC was compared with gene expression profiling interactive analysis, and their prognostic significance was analyzed with the Kaplan–Meier Plotter database. The correlations among IAPs were analyzed with the STRING database and SPSS19.0. Functional annotation of IAPs was analyzed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment on the basis of the DAVID tool. Among patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the expression level of BIRC5 was higher than that in normal samples, and the expression of BIRC1 and BIRC5 significantly varied in different stages. Moreover, the BIRC1–3 and BIRC5 mRNA levels were associated with overall survival (OS), and the BIRC1–2 and BIRC5–6 mRNA levels were associated with progression-free survival (PFS). Among patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), the expression level of BIRC1 was lower and that of BIRC5 was higher than those in normal tissues, and BIRC5 expression significantly varied in different stages. BIRC1 expression was associated with OS, whereas BIRC2 and BIRC6 expression was associated with PFS. Enrichment analysis showed that most IAPs are associated with ubiquitin- and apoptosis-related pathways. Collectively, this study suggests BIRC5 as a potential diagnostic and staging marker, BIRC1 as a potential marker of OS, and BIRC2 and BIRC6 as potential PFS markers for patients with NSCLC. These highlight new targets for the early detection, treatment, and management of NSCLC.

Aim: Schizophrenia is considered to be a disorder of progressive structural brain abnormalities. Previous studies have indicated that the cerebellar Crus I/II plays a critical role in schizophrenia. We aimed to investigate how specific morphological features in the Crus I/II at different critical stages of the schizophrenia spectrum contribute to the disease. Methods: The study involved 73 participants on the schizophrenia spectrum (28 with ultra‐high risk for psychosis [UHR], 17 with first‐episode schizophrenia [FES], and 28 with chronic schizophrenia) and 79 healthy controls. We undertook a detailed investigation into differences in Crus I/II volume using a semiautomated segmentation method optimized for the cerebellum. We analyzed the effects of group and sex, as well as their interaction, on Crus I/II volume in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM). Results: Significant group × sex interactions were found in WM volumes of the bilateral Crus I/II; the males with UHR demonstrated significantly larger WM volumes compared with the other male groups, whereas no significant group differences were found in the female groups. Additionally, WM and GM volumes of the Crus I/II had positive associations with symptom severity in the UHR group, whereas, in contrast, GM volumes in the FES group were negatively associated with symptom severity. Conclusions: The present findings provide evidence that the morphology of Crus I/II is involved in schizophrenia in a sex‐ and disease stage–dependent manner. Additionally, alterations of WM volumes of Crus I/II may have potential as a biological marker of early detection and treatment for individuals with UHR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The mechanism of many complex diseases has not been detected accurately in terms of their stage evolution. Previous studies mainly focus on the identification of associations between genes and individual diseases, but less is known about their associations with specific disease stages. Exploring biological modules through different disease stages could provide valuable knowledge to genomic and clinical research. Results In this study, we proposed a powerful and versatile framework to identify stage-specific cancer related genes and their dynamic modules by integrating multiple datasets. The discovered modules and their specific-signature genes were significantly enriched in many relevant known pathways. To further illustrate the dynamic evolution of these clinical-stages, a pathway network was built by taking individual pathways as vertices and the overlapping relationship between their annotated genes as edges. Conclusions The identified pathway network not only help us to understand the functional evolution of complex diseases, but also useful for clinical management to select the optimum treatment regimens and the appropriate drugs for patients.

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide, it is necessary to ascertain essential immune inflammatory parameters that describe the severity of the disease and provide guidance for treatment. We performed network meta-analyses to determine differences in blood cells, lymphocyte subsets, and cytokines in COVID-19 patients with different clinical stages.Methods: Databases were systematically searched to May 2, 2020, and updated on June 1, 2020. Network meta-analyses were conducted via Stata 15.0, and the mean difference (MD) and its 95% CI were used as the effect values of the pooled analysis.Results: Seventy-one studies were included involving 8647 COVID-19 patients, White blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEUT), IL-6, and IL-10 counts increased significantly with worsening of the COVID-19, while lymphocyte (LYM) counts decreased. The levels of platelet (PLT), CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD19+ cells in severe and critical patients were significantly lower than those in mild patients. IL-1β count was significantly elevated in critical patients.Conclusions: Immune suppression and inflammatory injury play crucial roles in the progression of COVID-19, and the identification of susceptible cells and cytokines provide guidance for the early and accurate treatment of COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study is to hierarchize the importance of the role of the main clinical stages of treatment in order to achieve a successful therapeutic management.Material and method:This study is carried out by analyzing the classic and modern facets for the main clinical stages that decisively influence the therapeutic development of an edented clinical case with different degrees of damage to the muco-bone, dento-periodontal support, with a special attention always being given loco-regional impairments. Results and disscusions :A particularly important aspect is represented by the management of devital teeth, which often, through the present and associated biomechanics, biomechanical stability orientates the choice of the restorative prosthetic solution to the zirconium ceramic restoration register, its opaque character being known, or to metalic-ceramice crowns. Conclusions:In view of efficient management of edentuous therapy, an effective clinical and paraclinical assessment is required, following the balancing, according to the decisional therapeutical algorithm of each clinical stage, and the manner in which it is performed in a classical or modern registry.

Femoral head necrosis is a mobility disorder and till now no satisfactory solution has been reported. The principal contributing factor in the pathogenesis of the disease is insufficient blood supply to the femoral head resulting in necrosis of the femoral head. Various preventive measures required to treat femoral head necrosis include revascularization, adequate supply of osteogenic cells and establishing enough strength to avoid collapse. Among all, cell transplantation therapy is considered the most favourable treatment strategy for femoral head necrosis. However, the results merely depend on the etiology and the clinical stage of femoral head necrosis. Thus, it is better to make a treatment plan according to the epidemiology, disease status and stage. The main objective of this communication is to study the treatment of femoral head necrosis with cell replacement therapy and also its effects by focusing on the disease stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expression of RUNX3 gene and miR-363 in colorectal cancer was studied to explore its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal cancer and to analyze the value of RUNX3 combined with miR-363 in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. In total, 85 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the First Peoples Hospital of Xiaoshan Hangzhou from March 2014 to July 2016 were the experiment group. Seventy healthy individuals who underwent physical examination were the control group. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of RUNX3 gene and miR-363 in peripheral blood of the two groups. The relationship between the expression of RUNX3 and miR-363 with its clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed as well. The expression of RUNX3 in the experiment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The expression level of miR-363 was significantly lower than in the control group (P<0.05). However, there was a correlation with tumor size, degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion and clinical stages (P<0.05). RUNX3 and miR-363 were significantly positively correlated with the degree of differentiation (r=0.7381, r=0.5375; P<0.05); RUNX3 and miR-363 were significantly negatively correlated with clinical stages (r=−0.7167, −0.6700; P<0.05). The area under the ROC curve of the combined test was larger than the single test. The expression of RUNX3 gene and miR-363 in peripheral blood of patients with colorectal cancer was lower than in the normal controls. The low expression of RUNX3 and miR-363 was closely related to various biological behaviors of colorectal cancer. A potential reference is provided for the evaluation of patients with colorectal cancer and expected to have an important guiding effect in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Moreover, combined test of RUNX3 and miR-363 has important significance in the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mechanism of many complex diseases has not been detected accurately in terms of their stage evolution. Previous studies mainly focus on the identification of associations between genes and individual diseases, but less is known about their associations with specific disease stages. Exploring biological modules through different disease stages could provide valuable knowledge to genomic and clinical research. Results: In this study, we proposed a powerful and versatile framework to identify stage-specific cancer related genes and their dynamic modules by integrating multiple datasets. The discovered modules and their specific-signature genes were significantly enriched in many relevant known pathways. To further illustrate the dynamic evolution of these clinical-stages, a pathway network was built by taking individual pathways as vertices and the overlapping relationship between their annotated genes as edges. Conclusions: The identified pathway network not only help us to understand the functional evolution of complex diseases, but also useful for clinical management to select the optimum treatment regimens and the appropriate drugs for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the value of quantitative parameters derived from diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) in differentiating histologic grades and clinical stages of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)., Materials and Methods: A total of 65 patients who were surgically and pathologically diagnosed as ccRCC were recruited in this study. In addition to routine renal magnetic resonance imaging examination, all patients underwent preoperative IVIM and DKI. The corresponding diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f), mean diffusivity (MD), kurtosis anisotropy (KA), and mean kurtosis (MK) values were obtained. Independent-samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparing the differences in IVIM and DKI parameters among different histologic grades and clinical stages. The diagnostic efficacy of IVIM and DKI parameters was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to separately analyze the correlation of each parameter with histologic grades and stages of ccRCC., Results: The D and MD values were significantly higher in low-grade ccRCC than high-grade ccRCC (all p < 0.001) and in low-stage than high-stage ccRCC (all p < 0.05), and the f value of high-stage ccRCC was lower than that of low-stage ccRCC ( p = 0.007). The KA and MK values were significantly higher in low-grade than high-grade ccRCC ( p = 0.000 and 0.000, respectively) and in low-stage than high-stage ccRCC ( p = 0.000 and 0.000, respectively). The area under the curve (AUC) values of D, D*, f, MD, KA, MK, DKI, and IVIM+DKI values were 0.825, 0.598, 0.626, 0.792, 0.750, 0.754, 0.803, and 0.857, respectively, in grading ccRCC and 0.837, 0.719, 0.710, 0.787, 0.796, 0.784, 0.864, 0.823, and 0.916, respectively, in staging ccRCC. The AUC of IVIM was 0.913 in staging ccRCC. The D, D*, and MD values were negatively correlated with the histologic grades and clinical stages (all p < 0.05), and the KA and MK values showed a positive correlation with histologic grades and clinical stages (all p < 0.05). The f value was also negatively correlated with the ccRCC clinical stage ( p = 0.008)., Conclusion: Both the IVIM and DKI values can be used preoperatively to predict the degree of histologic grades and stages in ccRCC, and the D and MD values have better diagnostic performance in the grading and staging. Also, further slightly enhanced diagnostic efficacy was observed in the model with combined IVIM and DKI parameters., Competing Interests: Authors DP, and WD were employed by the company GE Healthcare. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Cheng, Ren, Xu, Meng, Feng, Pylypenko, Dou and Yu.)

Highlights • Correlations between TNF-α, ECP, IL-8 levels and BA are studied. • TNF-α, ECP, IL-8 are negatively related to lung functions in BA patients. • TNF-α, ECP, IL-8 levels are positively correlated with clinical stages of BA. • TNF-α, ECP, IL-8 level are positively correlated with severity of BA. • TNF-α, ECP, IL-8 are markers for evaluating efficacy of glucocorticoid in BA. Abstract Background Bronchial asthma (BA) is a common chronic respiratory disease that has exhibited a rising global incidence in recent years. Glucocorticoids are used for the treatment of BA. Emerging evidence has demonstrated the roles of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in BA. The present study investigated whether TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP were associated with the clinical stages and severity of BA and the efficacy of glucocorticoids in the treatment of BA. Methods A total of 199 patients with BA and 174 healthy individuals were included in this study. Patients with BA underwent glucocorticoid treatment, and the TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP levels and lung functions of the subjects were measured. The correlations of the TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP levels with BA severity, clinical staging and lung functions were assessed. We investigated whether the TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP levels aided in evaluating the efficacy of using glucocorticoids for the treatment of BA. Results TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP exhibited high levels in patients with BA, and glucocorticoid treatment notably decreased these levels. The TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP levels were positively correlated with the clinical stages and severity of BA and negatively correlated with lung function. TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP can be used as serum markers to predict the efficacy of glucocorticoids in the treatment of BA. Conclusion The key findings of this study collectively support a role for TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP in BA development, and TNF-α, IL-8 and ECP can be used as serum markers of glucocorticoid efficacy in BA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antisense RNA (AS) is a type of long non-coding RNAs that functions as a post-transcriptional regulatory element on regulating parental coding gene expression via directly binding to complementary mRNA sequences. We aimed to investigate the effect of the AS to FEZF1 gene on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development. The expression level of lncRNA FEZF-AS1 and FEZF1 was determined by the quantitative Real-time PCR in 160 cases of NSCLC tissues and their adjacent non-tumour tissues. We found that lncRNA FEZF-AS1 was significantly up-regulated in tumour tissues when compared to the adjacent non-cancerous tissues ( P   =  0.001), and it’s high expression correlated with advanced stages ( P  = 0.002) and Tumour Family History ( P  = 0.029). Meanwhile, In 58 cases of NSCLC tissues the expression of lncRNA FEZF-AS1 was positively associated with that of FEZF1 expression (r = 0.8810, p = 1.6575E-20). By GEPIA database analysis, we also found that the expression of lncRNA FEZF-AS1 and FEZF1 were significantly higher in tumour tissues than those of the adjacent non-cancerous tissues in 969 NSCLC patients ( P <  0.05), and lncRNA FEZF-AS1 was positively correlated with FEZF1 (r = 0.90, P < 0.001). These results suggest that lncRNA FEZF-AS1 relate to the progression of lung cancer patients and it may be a potential target for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the analysis of clinico-psychological and dynamic features of organic personal disorder development in interaction with the residual and organic psychosyndrome. Research was conducted over three years, 115 male teenagers aged 16 – 20 years were studied. The organic personal disorder was studied by a multidisciplinary team of experts with clinico-dynamic,clinico-psychopathological, psychological and clinico-anamnestical methods. The received results allowed to specify the main clinical stages of formation of organic disorder of the personality (on ICD-10), to define the main types at the final stage of its development, to track interaction of the forming psychopathic phenomena with the disontogenetic development caused by residual and organic cerebral pathology. Besides, we attempt to correlate clinico-psychopathological and clinico-dynamic signs to indicators of a residual psychoorganic syndrome in the frame of multiaxial diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the expression of serum alkaline phosphatase(ALP) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and to analyze its relationship with clinicopathological features. Methods A case-control study was designed. 118 untreated OSCC patients (OSCC group) admitted to the Stomatological Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2016 to December 2017 were collected, all cases were clinically and histopathologically confirmed. At the same time. 100 healthy people were collected as healthy control group. The activity of serum ALP was evaluated by automatic biochemical analyzer (BS-300), and the relationship between ALP expression level and pathological parametersd was analyzed. Results 26.3%(31/118) of OSCC patients showed increased ALP. The average ALP level in the OSCC group was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group, the difference was statistically significant(t = 7.385, P<0.05). The average serum ALP level in patients with clinical stage III — IV was significantly higher than that in stage I — II, the average serum ALP level of patients with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that of patients without lymph node metastasis, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Serum ALP expression is increased in OSCC. It is also related to clinicopathological parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condensed Abstract: No large-scale, well-designed randomized study with a long-term follow-up has evaluated the survival effect of pretreatment 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography ( 18 FDG-PET-CT) on patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT). This is the first head-to-head propensity score-matched, nationwide population-based cohort study evaluating this survival effect. The results revealed that pretreatment 18 FDG-PET-CT might be associated with longer survival in patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy, especially in the IG-IMRT era., Purpose: No large-scale, well-designed randomized study with a long-term follow-up has evaluated the survival effect of pretreatment 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography ( 18 FDG-PET-CT) on patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT). Therefore, in this propensity score-matched, population-based cohort study, we investigated these survival effects., Patients and Methods: We included 4167 patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving radiotherapy (RT) or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) through the IG-IMRT technique. The patients were categorized into two 1:2 propensity score-matched groups depending on whether they underwent pretreatment 18 FDG-PET-CT, and their outcomes were compared., Results: We included 2778 and 1389 patients with cervical cancer in the nonpretreatment and pretreatment PET-CT groups, respectively. Univariable and multivariable analyses revealed an association between pretreatment PET-CT and improved survival in the patients (in the adjusted model, the adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] was 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-0.97: P = 0.010). Regardless of the cancer stage (early or advanced), pretreatment PET-CT was significantly superior to nonpretreatment PET-CT in terms of all-cause death (aHR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.60-0.92; P = 0.013 and aHR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81-0.99; P = 0.039 for the early [IB-IIA] and advanced stages [IIB-IVA], respectively)., Conclusions: Pretreatment 18 FDG-PET-CT might be associated with longer survival in patients with stage IB-IVA cervical cancer receiving RT or CCRT, especially in the era of IG-IMRT., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Su, Chen, Chen, Shia and Wu.)

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of interleukin (IL)-21 in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. IL-21 stimulates T and B cell responses and plays a role in the control of chronic viral infections. Serum IL-21 levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 109 patients with chronic HBV infection at various clinical stages, as well as in 19 healthy controls (HCs). The proportion of T cells producing IL-21 in the peripheral blood was assessed by intracellular cytokine staining and low cytometry. Mean serum IL-21 levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and the HCs were 303.54±152.77 pg/ml and 68.24±9.06 pg/ml, respectively (P=0.003). In addition, the mean serum IL-21 level in patients with hepatitis B-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HB-ACLF) was 455.38±412.38 pg/ml, which exhibited a statistically significant difference when compared with the HCs (P=0.000). Serum IL-21 levels were highest in the patients with HB-ACLF (455.38±412.38 pg/ml) and exhibited a significant difference when compared with the CHB patients (P=0.04). The mean serum IL-21 levels in patients with cirrhosis also increased, but there was no statistically significant difference when compared with the HCs (P=0.82). The frequency of IL-21+CD4+ cells also increased compared with the HCs and correlated with the number and percentage of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. Serum IL-21 levels increased in CHB and HB-ACLF patients. Relatively low serum IL-21 levels in CHB may have a causal role in the persistence of HBV infection. Higher serum levels in HB-ACLF may activate T and B cells to eliminate the virus or injure the liver via the release of inflammatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No comparative study with a long-term follow-up period has evaluated the survival outcomes of preoperative 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 18 FDG PET/CT) in patients with p16-negative OPSCC. We included patients with stage I-IVB p16-negative OPSCC undergoing surgery and categorized them into two groups based on whether they underwent preoperative 18 FDG PET/CT and compared their outcomes: the case group comprised patients who did not undergo preoperative 18 FDG PET/CT, whereas the control group comprised patients who underwent preoperative 18 FDG PET/CT. The findings of the multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed no association between preoperative 18 FDG PET/CT and overall survival (OS) in the case and control groups in the patients with stage I-III p16-negative OPSCC undergoing surgery (after multivariable adjustment, the hazard ratio [HR] was 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.86-1.48: P = 0.4028). However, we noted an association between preoperative 18 FDG PET/CT and OS in the case and control groups in the patients with stage IVA and IVB p16-negative OPSCC undergoing surgery (after multivariable adjustment, the HR of all-cause mortality for nonpreoperative PET/CT was 1.82 compared with preoperative PET/CT; 95% CI = 1.47-2.26; P < 0.0001). Preoperative 18 FDG PET/CT use was associated with a lower risk of mortality in the patients with stage IVA and IVB p16-negative OPSCC without metastasis., Competing Interests: None., (AJCR Copyright © 2022.)

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 34 patients with cancer, belonging to Manzanillo municipality of Granma province, from March 2011 to the same month of 2012, in order to determine in them the prevalence of the pain according to clinical stages, for which a multi-stage stratified probability sampling was performed. Among the analyzed variables were tumor location, severity of pain, analgesic treatment, pain symptoms and opioids used. The presence of variable pain in all clinical stages was confirmed; however, it prevailed in the third stage (26.4%) with location in the lung, and in those affected with respiratory symptoms (17.6%) it was mild and moderate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection in cattle causes Enzootic Bovine Leukemia (EBL). About 30% of infected cattle develop persistent lymphocytosis (PL), a 0.1–5% develops tumors, and a 70% remains asymptomatic in an aleukemic stage (AL). Regulatory genes of BLV (Tax, Rex, R3 and G4) are located in a region known as pXBLV. The variability of those genes had been postulated with the progression of the disease. The aim of this work was to compare the wild-type proviral pXBLV region at different stages of BLV natural infected cattle from Argentine Holstein. Pairs of primers were designed to amplify the proviral pX region of 12 cattle by PCR, and products were then sequenced, aligned and compared both with each other and with the reference sequence. Results show a divergence percentage from 0 to 6.1 for the Tax gene, from 0 to 9.4% for the Rex gene, from 0 to 12.1% for the R3 gene and finally from 0 to 6.5% for the G4 gene. Results obtained with hierarchical clustering showed two clusters well differentiated, where the members of each cluster are cattle that had tumor, PL and AL, not allowing differentiate those two cluster by clinical stage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]